Government is forging ahead with plans to make Bermudian qualifications internationally relevant, Education Minister Paula Cox revealed last night.

She said on an education debate broadcast on ZBM that it was top priority.

She said: "We are looking at that now with a very short time-frame window for action."

Ms Cox said a committee had been set up to look at international accreditation but she said parents should not feel they were being short-changed in public education.

Design and technology at CedarBridge is being looked at for international accreditation revealed the Minister.

Ms Cox received strong support from Education Board Chairman Philip Butterfield who said: "Seeking an extended benchmark is absolutely necessary. We are competing in a far more dynamic environment.

"We need to look outside the immediate environment for measuring ways of acceptable performance."

Chief Education Officer Dr. Joseph Christopher said the Ministry was keen to dovetail courses with the Bermuda College and the National Training Board to make sure education was relevant.

He also revealed the Education Centre which handles badly-behaved pupils would be expanded in the next school year to allow it to handle 24 pupils. Currently it can take ten.

He said: "I don't think we need that number but we want to make sure we can accommodated those who need it."

Berkeley Principal Michelle Gabisi denied claims school standards were slipping but said they were on the up.

She said to reach an 'A' grade students now needed to hit 90 percent while to graduate, students had to have a 90 percent punctuality rate and put in hours of community service and extra curricula activity.